Nelson's Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey

This is my first Tennessee Whiskey after Jack, so I'm still learning the style. But after almost polishing off a full bottle, I've really come to love the style. This whiskey opens up with a strong green apple, maple, and caramel nose, along with some bready doughy notes. It does hit you strong with the ethanol, but that disappears after a minute or two. For a whiskey that I've been mostly drinking on the rocks in a rocks glass, smelling the remainder in the bottle gives it room for the alcohol to dissipate and allow the real notes to emerge. I'm shocked at the sweetness of the aroma. Not bourbon kind of sweet, more a caramel and apple sweetness. On the palate, it's harsh at 45.5%, but has a distinctly grainy, almost roasted note. It's smoothes out quick as you salivate, but really doesn't have an overwhelmingly strong profile. Reading another review, I'm noting that it's the wheat that's giving it the strong grainy, bready character, and the Lincoln County process giving it the maple sweetness. It is incredibly oaky, yet the wood still falls to the backdrop. Some light leather and peppery grass. The mouth feel is surprisingly thin, which is perhaps why it doesn't hold up too well with ice (it's been drinking very mild on the rocks). The finish is fairly boozy, but likewise dissipates quickly. Oak remains, along with some dry and not spicy black pepper, and a touch of leather. I'm not finding much apple in the finish, but overripe dehydrated apple skins are present in the finish for me. The finish is disproportionately dry to the nose and even the palate. Overall, it's very nice and far more interesting than Jack. However I'd love to expand my experience and knowledge of the style to better situate this among others.

Sweet and sour Sour apple Oak Spicy

The nose opens up with oak and green apple along with subtle hints of smoke and dried flowers. The dominant note is definitely that of sweetness with maybe the slightest hint of spice as it opens up. The palate is very soft gives way to oak, pepper and caramel apple as it sticks to mostly the middle of the tongue and the sides of the mouth, making the mouthfeel a shortcoming. It isn't thin or rich, but it also isn't memorable with how simple the palate is and a lack of evolution from it. The finish is medium and slightly astringent with the sweetness not quite carrying over, neither does the oak. Everything seems to be quickly subdued, although there is a lingering pepperiness. With ice or in a cocktail this might be alright, but served straight as a sipping whiskey, there is more to be desired from this.

I enjoy trying new bourbons at our local bar and this was one I’ve never had. Had this in a glencairn glass neat. The nose was sweet but that was it. Almost like it wasn’t a bourbon but a brown liquid. The palate thin, sour, like drinking water purée through dirt. Just not drinkable. The finish was so fast it felt like all you tasted was the palate “dirt” you had before. Overall, no, don’t, just don’t. If someone puts this in front of you, I’d recommend to slowly step back and politely bring up a different bottle to drink. Scale: .25

Nose is sour and grassy with very light barrel taste is very satisfying with fruit flavors and malt flavor viscus in mouth with light but lingering finish